Nudist Wish List

 

While you're shopping at Amazon, don't forget to set the AANR Education Foundation as your smile charity and start your shopping at smile.amazon.com.

It's that time of the year again.  It's time to figure out what to give your favorite nudist.  Here are a few things I'd like to find under my tree.

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National “Coming Out Day” Just Think About It

 

The year was 1972 and I was a young wife and mother. At the time I was fortunate to live on a United States Forest Service compound at Steamboat Ranger Station next to the North Umpqua River. Some of the best skinny dipping in the entire world!

Neighbors Jim and Liz would mention going camping near Eugene every other weekend. At the time we were all on limited budgets and I found it insane that they would leave some of the best free (at the time) camping area in Oregon to drive to Eugene. After my curiosity and numerous questions wore them down they shared that they drove to a nudist resort in Marcola. My thought process went into overdrive and I imagined all sorts of craziness. Skip forward past the roller coaster ride type of indecision to my first visit to the Willamettans Family Nudist Resort better known as The Willies. I knew at the time that I had stepped into a world of pure comfort and life changing.

After purchasing my American Sunbathing Association membership (ASA) I traveled to Fraternity Snoqualmie to attend a convention. I remember thinking as a TV news reporter explained that my face would not be shown on the news “what do I care I am way up in Washington.” After the convention I returned to the Willamettans to spend a couple days. During a volleyball game someone yelled “Hey Shirley you were just on the local news.” It was not long before extended family living in the area spread the news.

Skip forward to the days where I listed my volunteer work with The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) on my work applications at Target, Sony Disc Manufacturing and Value Village known as Savers in some areas. I have attended Chamber of Commerce, Oregon Tourist Bureau, City Council, County Commissioner, Oregon State Parks and other meetings as a member of AANR. Shoot I rarely get an eyebrow lifted at the mention of being a nudist. The shock value of the past is long gone.

I would much rather be the one to share my membership in AANR than have my employer, neighbors or family hear about it from others.

Why do I feel safe outing myself? I give the credit to those nudists who in the past worked so hard to dispel the stereotypes, break ground and create safe places to recreate nude. I credit today’s volunteers, members and AANR staff who do not hide behind anonymity. To business owners who provide me a safe and comfortable venue to enjoy family nudism. To AANR members who value the struggle and work that continues to be addressed and purchase memberships.

Everyone who chooses to protect their anonymity behind first names and perhaps nicknames on social media have their reasons and I can respect that. But let us give thanks and show appreciation for those that are willing to take the risks involved in gifting their anonymity to moving nudist rights forward.

I recently attended the AANR Fall Board meeting in Las Vegas. I was in attendance as an AANR member who traveled on my own dime. As I sat and observed AANR members from all regions go through a period of discussion, compromise and conclusions I was impressed with the procedure and accomplishments.

A group of AANR volunteers, who spent countless hours preparing, who gave up a weekend of their time, purchased their own meals and sat in a cold meeting room for hours on end. What was their true gift? They also gave up their anonymity years ago.

Frequently I am asked why I don’t participate on several of the nudist social media sites. The anonymity of the site members who post and have chosen to remain anonymous is huge. I find it very difficult to give credibility to an anonymous poster.

In short I wish everyone who continues to maintain their anonymity would at least acknowledge that anonymity in part is like a road block to moving forward.

I would like to suggest that AANR have a national nudist coming out day. It could be very much like the “Gay” community who provided a day of support for their family, friends and loved ones to move beyond the fear and be recognized. What a Public Relations success this could be.

Thinking out loud,
Shirley Gauthier

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Rooster Rock-Earth Day – April 25th

 

t’s time to save the date April 25th for the Rooster Rock State Park Earth Day tree plant.
Rooster Rock State Park Ranger Glenn Littrell wrote “I just want to give you all a heads up that our 2015 Earth Day Tree Plant will be Saturday April 25th from 9 am -2 pm. We will be planting in other areas of the park since the A-1 area we have focused on for many years is fairly well covered.”
Jeff Snyder of Lava Nursery is once again generously donating a variety of 400 conifer trees.

While this is not a clothing optional event it is a great time to participate with your entire family or friends group. In the past we have enjoyed working with several community groups and it is surprising how quickly the trees went in the ground.

AANR-NW holds the Rooster Rock park adoption through the Oregon “Adopt-A-Park” program. If resorts or clubs would plan to make this one of their events it would be very helpful in maintaining our adoption agreements.

If you would like additional information or have questions contact Shirley Gauthier – sherbog@msn.com

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2014 AANR-NW Fall Update Call

 

AANR-NW will be having a group conference call next Sunday, 11/23/2014 at 4pm. Club Presidents, directors, officers and chairs have been sent invites. Even if you have not received an invite, you are welcome to join us. Just email president@aanr-nw.org for an invite.

We have a few topics to discuss
– Background checks. Can we band together for better rates and service?
– Advertising credits
– Nacorba http://www.nacorba.org/
– Outcome of Fall AANR board meeting
– Would it be ok if we are willing to host the aanr-florida website? They are willing to pay us.
– Online Nudescene
– A chance to talk with one another

Please let me know if you have anything else you want to add.

There may be a lot of people on the call. It is an ‘opportunity’ to see if we can handle a large call effectively.

Feel free to let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Karen
president@aanr-nw.org

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Recap of the 2014 AANR Fall Board Meeting

 

by Sharon McLeod

The weather in Las Vegas, where the 2014 AANR board meeting was held, was mild and inviting. But your AANR board wasn’t interested in the weather. In fact, they were hardly aware of it because their attention was focused on the issues facing AANR today.

Immediately following last summer’s convention, the President appointed teams that examined and analyzed issues identified by the former Executive Director (ED). The teams presented their conclusions and recommendations at this meeting, and your AANR board made decisions regarding these initiatives:

Adult clubs: The former ED eagerly advocated including clubs that want to pursue sexually oriented activities in AANR, feeling that this would increase membership and, especially, revenue. The team concluded that this approach does not match AANR’s core values, which are clearly expressed in AANR’s Bylaws. The team acknowledges that AANR messaging to the public often looks remarkably similar to that of entities pursuing sexually oriented activities. The team recommended that AANR revisit core values, and then create short- and long-term goals based on those values. The messaging that grows out of this work will differentiate AANR and its clubs from these other entities. The Trustees recommended the formation of an ad hoc committee to do this work.

Carver model: The former ED, a certified Carver trainer, strongly recommended that the AANR board adopt Carver, a well-known governance model used by many non-profit organizations. The team quickly realized that, to properly do their job, they needed to examine multiple governance models to determine the best match for AANR. The team determined that AANR currently uses a constituency model, but doesn’t use it well. The team ultimately recommended that AANR continue operating under the current model and provide training to the board in being more effective under this structure. The Trustees voted to establish an ad hoc committee to identify a facilitator to do this training.

Name change: The former ED advocated a name that would dominate the nudist/naturist marketplace. The team recommended that AANR first determine their direction going forward. Only then can decisions regarding whether a new name is warranted and a name that reflects the new direction. The team pointed out that any name should be inclusive of more than just “America.”

Trade Association: Changing AANR’s structure was essential to implementing many of the ED’s other initiatives, and would provide a foundation for AANR to provide revenue-producing services to clubs. The team detailed current AANR club benefits that could move under the trade association, should it become a reality.

Facility: The former ED recommended that AANR sell the headquarters building located in Kissimmee, Florida and relocate, preferably to a nudist venue. After thoroughly examining this multi-faceted issue, the team recommends selling the building. The board will rely on research by staff regarding the best approach to take in this endeavor.

Pricing structure: The former ED pleaded to reduce the number of membership types available to AANR members and to standardize the cost of regional memberships because of confusion, increased chance of errors, and increased cost to enhance and maintain the computer code that supports this. After analysis and discussion, the team recommended a simpler slate of membership costs with price based on a calculation of basic membership plus regular cost-of-living adjustments.
In addition to addressing the former ED’s initiatives, the board:

Decided against producing an updated Park Guide until further investigation is completed.
Approved capping the Life Membership fund and putting the excess in a Capital Improvements fund.
Because the board spent only one day together, they were incredibly focused and tenaciously on-task. An unexpected but pleasing product of deliberating and deciding AANR’s future was increased cohesion and respect among members of the board.

Next steps include further research for some issues, and implementation plans for others. Stay tuned for updates on your AANR Board’s next actions.

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IMHO (in my humble opinion)

 

by Karen Lahey
I’ve got an idea on how we can better understand one another and be happier. We would all be better off if we assume the best of intentions from our fellows. Much of the time, when we hear something that doesn’t make sense, we immediately assume that it has been decided with some mean or manipulative reason. We don’t wait to get the facts. However, if we don’t jump to conclusions, we can realize that maybe we don’t know everything about the situation. Perhaps there are good reasons for such decisions. Maybe we don’t really understand the situation. Maybe we could wait to get answers to our questions. We can take time to confirm our assumptions. And sometimes we may just need to trust since there is a valid reason why our question shouldn’t be answered. One way to slow down our jump to a conclusion is to take the time to think of ways that the decision or action might make sense. As Alan Alda said, “Begin challenging your assumptions. Your assumptions are the windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile or the light won’t come in.” Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/assumptions.html#VxIMzleDfj65sXaH.99

Now I just need to remember to not jump to conclusions when someone else has jumped to a conclusion that I don’t agree with.

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What are you thankful for?

 

Thanksgiving is either in a few weeks (if you live in the US) or it was a few weeks ago (if you live in Canada). So here’s the question: As a nudist, what are you thankful for? Send your answers to nudenews@aanr-nw.org with a note whether you want to be identified or not. They will be compiled in the Northwest Nude News sent out on US Thanksgiving. Let’s see how many different things we can be thankful for. As the editor, I will be thankful for help in writing copy for this newsletter.

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Nude Showing of Tiny Tim is Dead is Cancelled

 

For the last few weeks ago, we have been trying to get enough people to commit so that we could buy out the house and see Tiny Tim is Dead in the nude.  To do this, we would have needed to buy 87 tickets.  Less than 20 people showed interest, so we will not be able to buy out the theater.  Even having to wear clothes, I think it will be a fun outing and plan to go.  However, we will have to keep our clothes on.  The play will be performed at Hugo House on Capitol Hill in Seattle.  It runs from December 5th – December 20th.  More information is available at http://playwrights-theatre.org/?page_id=58.

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Is Sunlight Good for You?

 

According to Dr. Richard Weller, a dermatologist in Edinburgh, sunlight could be good for your heart. In addition to supplying Vitamin D, sunlight causes the release of nitrous oxide on the skin, which benefits blood pressure and the cardiovascular system. You can watch Dr. Weller at http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_weller_could_the_sun_be_good_for_your_heart . And an article in the Scottish Express http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/526739/Sunlight-key-fighting-diabetes-Scots-scientists-reveal , that references Dr. Weller, suggests that experiments also show the benefits of moderate exposure to sun light as fighting obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. But skin cancer can kill, so stay in the sun in moderation.

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